100+ Things to do in Ham Radio

Have fun with Ham Radio doing these things

Action or Activity Comment

2M SSB or CW Working the "weak signal" bands can be fun!
6M - what a great band! Operate the "magic" band on SSB or FM
10M - This band can really Join 10-10 international and KEEP THE BAND OPEN!
jump
75 Meter Roundtables Sometime called the groan and moan nets!
160M The Gentleman's Band
AM - Operate this "old time" Join the AM net each Wednesday
mode
AMSAT - Join and work the Operate one of the amateur satellites like AO-51
universe
APRS - find yourself And let others know where you are!
ARES Be more active in your local ARES group.
ARES - Help your local group Find your local ARES group and start having fun with
them. Also strongly consider passing the various IS-xxx
courses required to officially participate.
ARES nets Check into ARES nets in your surrounding counties
ARRL Join! Support your hobby with lobbying in Washington.
Who else is?
Air Mobile Work from an airborne station
Antenna Party Friends don't let friends build and install HF antennas by
themselves!
Antennas - Build'em and Wire antennas, Yagis, quads, hex beams, - then argue
use'em about'em
Astronomy - Radio version Looking for signals in all the wrong places
Audio - make it better Heil, Berringer, audio filters, all things audio
Badge - tell everyone your Check the Sign Man of Baton Rouge
callsign
Balloonatics Hams who put expensive transmitters in balloons and
watch them fly away!
Bicycle Mobile Talk while riding - look ma - no hands; look ma - no
teeth!
Boatanchors Collect and operate old radios
Books - read one - write one
CW - Learn it!
CW - get your speed to 20
wpm
Christian Amateur Radio
Fellowship (CARF)
Civil Air Patrol
Class - as in Ham Radio
Club meetings
Club.Join/renew! BARES
Computer Control
Contesting
County Hunting
Crystal Radio - build one
DSTAR
DSTAR via laptop - Dongle
world!
DX - Work other countries
DXpedition
Dayton Hamvention
Digital modes
Echolink - computer and ham Work repeaters/other hams via your computer
radio
EmComm - Power Poles
EmComm-ANTENNA
EmComm.ARRLcourses
Hundreds of books - new – old - used - collecting
You only know half the fun of ham radio w/o CW
Already at 15 characters
Join your friends on the air
Do the radio work for CAP
Teach a ham class and help others enjoy the fun
Don't even get on the air, just attend club meetings -
FUN!!
A more general term - join a ham club! OR join 2 or 3
clubs. More clubs, more fun!
Computer control one or more rigs in your shack - Ham
Radio Deluxe
Make a lot of contacts and work on your operating skills
at the same time.
Work 500, 1000 ... and all 3077 of them.
Show how simple a radio can be
Get on the digital bandwagon! It's everywhere, it's
everywhere!
Use a laptop to access the Dstar network while you're
traveling or anytime.
DX The Ultimate Contact Sport - this can be tough if you
already have 337!
Pack it up and hit the road to that small island!
Attend this once in your lifetime, bet you can't "eat just
one"!
Work one or many of the various FREE digital modes
available for download!
Convert all rigs to PowerPole connectors
You never know when you'll need to go PORTABLE so
build a portable antenna. J-pole is a good one.
Consider the EC001 and possibly EC002 & EC003
courses. They're fun and you learn a bunch.
Field Day Operate this fun event with your friends
Fox Hunting Tie amateur radio into physical exercise
Friends Meet interesting people and make new friends
Grounding Build an uber ground, find a water pipe, install a ground
rod, lay some radials
Hamfest Attend a hamfest - sell that old junk, buy more!
Handi- HAMS Help a challenged person get their license
IOTA Islands on the AIR - every group of islands has an ID -
work'em all!
Keys - Collect them What a great way to enjoy ham radio - telegraph keys
Kit - Build some At least an $8 crystal oscillator or an SW-40 transceiver
Linear Amps Build'em, tune'em, don't get shocked
Linux - another computer Download a Linux system for a computer and start
world playing with all the FREE software out there. Lots of
stuff for hams too!
Logging Software Get some. I like N3FJP. N1MM is FREE. Using this
rekindled my fire for Ham Radio.
MARS Military Affiliate Radio - join up, serve your armed
forces
Magazines - subscribe, Read, collect, give'em away - copy to CDs
Marine Mobile Work from a Marine station, boating, waterways nets
Meteor Scatter World's shortest and longest QSOs at the same time
Mobile - radio in motion Set up a mobile station - VHF or HF
Moonbounce OK, maybe a bit ambitious
Motorcycle Mobile Shoot the bull while ridin' the HOG!
Nets Check in before you check out!!
Oscilloscope - Learn to use Oscilloscopes are a blast. Watch that green trace go!
PSK-31 - Digital mode for all! An easy digital mode
Pedestrian mobile Got an HT? Have a QSO walking around.
Public service Work a public service event (I believe every ham should
work at least one each year!)
QRP - Try it! Start trying QRP by turning down power to 5 w (10w
SSB)
QSL cards Collect'em, get some printed, mail out some.
RACES ... as in Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
RTTY
Radio Control Planes
Ragchew
Remote Control your station
Repair Radio Equipment
Repeaters
Restore old radios
SHF - Work your neighbor
SSTV
Satellite-Antennas
Scanning
Schools - do a demo
Scouting (and ham radio)
Shack Simplification
Shack setup
Short Wave Radio
Simulated Emergency Test
Skywarn
Software - Ham Radio
Software - program a chip
Software Defined Receiver
Space Station
Tech FEST - attend
Television - FSTV
Test Equipment
Traffic NETS
An ancient form of digital communications
Fly away to your heart's content
Be much more active on a repeater; regularly check into
nets. Get a RagChewers Club certificate for QSO of 30
Minutes
Operate your station over the internet
Help out other hams, fix their radios and yours too
Build'em, use'em, fix'em, control'em
This is very gratifying
Work a contact on CW, SSB, digital above 440 MHz
Operate Slow Scan TV. Several nets meet daily.
Build a couple of antennas and put radio gear together so
you can work one of the many ham satellites (FM, SSB
or data).
OK, it's only half radio but hams do it so it must be fun!
Go to your kid's school and tell'em all about this stuff
Go hand in hand - Jamboree on the AIR!
See if you can get every rig in your shack down to one
microphone and one PTT switch
Set up a shack (might need some help with an antenna
raising party!)
Listen to SW Radio from your favorite country. Maybe
follow New Years around the globe for 24 hours?
The old S.E.T. – readiness - be prepared
Watch the weather = tell the National Weather Service
There are thousands of programs out there and they are
fun to play with.
Write software to control a micro chip
Build or set up a software defined receiver or transceiver
Talk to the ISS - chat up an astronaut
Not a hamfest, a TECH FEST!
Fast Scan TV - on 440 mhz - set up your station and
show off!
Make a list and buy or make yours
Try handling messages via SSB (75M) or CW(80M)
Upgrade your license - Or upgrade from whatever class you are
General Ticket
VUCC - Award Get this award for working 100 grid squares on 6M and
above
Vanity Callsign - get one Are you a general or extra class? Well, maybe you should
look into a 1x3 or 2x2 callsign, even a 1x2 if you qualify!
Volunteer Examiner (VE) - Help grow the hobby by qualifying more hams!
become one
Website - amateur radio Set up your own URL and tell everyone what you do
Workbench - Set yours up A place to do all that "fiddling around"
Worked All States - W.A.S. Obtain this and other awards
Write - articles about ham Submit to magazines, become famous
radio
YLs - Young Ladies (YLRL) Promote YL activity, recruit YLs, encourage YLs.
Youth - be one - help one Help your neighbor become a ham. Loan him/her a radio